Here is an example of what we get in sometimes. This is Certified Angus AAA ribeye. Tripple A(Prime in USA) is typically very marbled but what you don't usually see is how much fat there is in the surrounding caps. As you can see, there is quite a bit of fat. These are photos I took to send to the supplier. After we trim it we had about 40% trim/waste. Normally, I use some trim for our burgers but this one was a bit unacceptable. We went ahead and cut this one for steaks but ended up getting a bit of a credit.

They're not all like this, thankfully. Occasionally we get one in that has too much fat for us to absorb the loss. Like I said, I use quite a bit of our trim in our burgers, which I grind weekly along with some lean cuts, so we don't throw a whole lot out. We would have to mark the steaks up astronomically if we didn't use the trim. We also have a system where our supplier credits us on a percentage of stuff like this.. When prime is grilled, it loses much more fat than it would if roasted in a big piece.

I hear ya, Steve. We would have a hard time selling a steak with that much on it, so from a marketing stand point, we have to trim..the majority of people prefer something with a little less fat. I tell them they can to to a New York Strip... Some guys, like you, and me, ask for the most marbling we can get. I cut them special and leave more fat on...

I hear ya, Steve. We would have a hard time selling a steak with that much on it, so from a marketing stand point, we have to trim..the majority of people prefer something with a little less fat. I tell them they can to to a New York Strip... Some guys, like you, and me, ask for the most marbling we can get. I cut them special and leave more fat on...

Roch, was all that fat due to a poor job of trimming or was that much fat unusual for a AAA steer?

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"If you want to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first create the universe." -Carl Sagan

That is more fat than usual, but it does happen. They usually trim them to the same shape but the lip section typically has more meat running through it. This one has been trimmed poorly IMHO. But, I guess they never really know what is going on inside that part so they cut to the usual specs..When we cut steaks we get to see what is inside. Considering we pay the same price for the fat as the meat, we asked for a credit. As said before, we can't afford to lose that much waste...overall, it could be as high as 35-40 %.

When you cook a lot of cuts like those together on the grill, it adds to the overall flavor of each one.
Like at a 4th of July BBQ where 6 or 7 steaks get set on the grill together at once, flipped a few times.
Yum.